When a beautiful special edition of Moore's debut was delivered to me as part of Powell's Indiespensable collection, I was stoked: Finally a novel aboWhen a beautiful special edition of Moore's debut was delivered to me as part of Powell's Indiespensable collection, I was stoked: Finally a novel about the foundation of Liberia, a fascinating country I had learnt about when I was part of an (American) Model UN team representing Liberia at National Model United Nations. And Moore does talk about the complicated history of this state, envisioned as a "free colony" at the African coast, a place were free slaves could settle. The three protagonists stand for the peoples of Liberia and are endowed with magical powers: We meet June Dey, a former slave from Virginia with superhuman strength; Norman, the child of a white colonizer and a Maroon slave from Jamaica who can become invisible (thus turning the fact that the humanity of slaves has been ignored by their captors into a weapon); and then there's Gbessa, a member of the African Vai tribe - she owns the biggest gift of all: Life, as she is undying. (Yes, all of this is blatant symbolism.)
Moore tells the backstories of her three characters in pretty excessive length before they finally meet in Monrovia - I have to admit that this tested my patience quite a bit. Another factor that bothered me was the use of the superpowers: I really enjoy magical realism as long as the fantastical elements teach me something that lies beyond actual reality or reveal something about the worldview and culture of the characters. In this case though, the powers often felt like plot devices employed to hold the story together. The choice of narrator didn't do much for me either (view spoiler)[(in a mythical convergence of natural powers and ancestral wisdom, the story is told by the wind, but unfortunately, this narrative voice feels forced) (hide spoiler)].
What I really appreciated though was Moore's talent for describing scenes and moods - everything she writes feels elegant and alive, even if the pacing is sometimes slightly uneven. I also liked that she discussed the various conflicts that erupted in Liberia, and finds voices for the different sides (except the slavers, but this story is not about them - their voices have been too loud for too long). When they met the indigenous population, the settlers themselves came from different places and had different backgrounds - are the aspirations to make Liberia (liber = free) a haven for all of them sufficient to render the country a success?
A promising debut, but the story does not quite come together....more
Loading...
